Through the Looking Glass
by GlassSplinter
Summary: Sarah goes back. She likes being a pest. Pseudo-political adventure. Eventual Sarah/Jareth pairing. R
1. Abandoned

Disclaimer: I retain all rights to everything in this story, except for anything that already belongs to the current copyright holders of the film "Labyrinth" or any official media pertaining thereof.

**Through the Looking Glass**

Sarah returned home from the Goblin Kingdom, relieved that her ordeal was over. Yet, the fantastical world of the Labyrinth was far more interesting than her own. So Sarah called on her new, (and only,) friends more and more, and more and more they appeared. Hoggle with his nervous shuffle, Ludo with his overbearing friendliness, Sir Didymus, no introduction needed. For two years, they traveled between worlds at a moment's notice, but never did Sarah go back. What would Jareth think?

Her friends came to her sporadically. At times, Hoggle or Sir Didymus were busy, and she was left only with Ludo to console her. Loyal Ludo, however, always came when Sarah asked. He was practically at her beck and call.

Sarah usually called her friends when she was sad or upset. The so called people at school were so mean, they were more like goblins. Not even Drama class was what it should be. The girls lied to her face, talking more cruel lies behind her back, and the boys didn't even glance once in her direction. This led to a series of long, tear filled nights.

One such night, Sarah called to her friends through the mirror. "I need you," she cried, and waited.

And waited.

Nothing happened. The mirror stayed blank, and her room remained empty. Except for the clutter, and herself.

Well, at that moment, Sarah felt like clutter. Hoggle, and Didymus, and Ludo, have always been there to comfort her. Ludo always came no matter what, he was her rock. And Sir Didymus would never abandon her in a time of need. Hoggle, well, they were past that. Without them, she was just a nerdy girl in a small Connecticut suburb, sitting in a room full of nothing, talking to herself. She had no human friends to turn to, her parents were tyrants, and her brother was a brat.

So Sarah decided to try going through the mirror, instead of the other way around.

"Mirror mirror on the wall, take me to the goblin hall," Sarah whispered, her voice sliding easily into a theatrical tone. In moments of extreme stress, she reverted back to her dramatic roots.

She reached out towards the mirror, just like she saw in the Matrix, when Hoggle brought back a tape. Her fingertips touched the shimmering surface, and she started walking towards it. The mirror was high up on the dresser, causing Sarah to climb on it, balancing precariously amidst her books and action figures. Finally, she stepped through the mirror. It felt like cold freshwater as she slid though, and through, with baited breath. Sarah closed her eyes.


	2. Peaches

Chapter 2

Sarah opened her eyes.

"Yes!" She was in the Goblin Castle, in a featureless hallway. She could see no source of light, but it wasn't dark. Now she could see her friends. As soon as she got out of the castle, that is.

She made her way down the hallway, hoping that this wasn't one of those endless tunnels, like in the labyrinth. Sarah walked forward, wanting to find a way out and get to her friends, when she saw a door. She opened it, slowly allowing soft light to spill out. The first thing she saw was a huge window, taking up the whole far wall. Soft light fell into the room, as if it was just before dawn. There was a dresser identical to her's on the left. In the mirror over the dresser she saw herself, and as she saw what was behind her, she gave a startled gasp and whirled around.

There, on the side of the large, soft bed, lay her enemy, splayed and defenseless. His face sparkled in the sunlight, and his hair was disheveled, like the rays of a disobedient sun. The expression of innocence on his face did nothing to betray the crimes committed against her.

Sarah watched him for a moment, wary. Jareth was a devious bastard, he might only be pretending that he was asleep. She stood and watched him for what seemed like minutes more, then slowly creeping forwards.

He looked quite beautiful, really, without that smug expression on his face. There was no makeup, his face was clear. Sarah smirked as she imagined goblins helping the king put on eyeliner. Speaking of, Sarah had lipstick in her pocket, right now. And there was Jareth, oh so pliant. It was all very convenient. Sarah thought for a moment that she could wait. Stalk out the opportune moment to make Jareth's life hell, but no. The Goblin King was bound to notice an intruder as soon as he woke up. She took out the lipstick. Off went the cap. Peach pink. How fitting.


	3. A whole little of nothing

Chapter 3

Jareth woke up. It was another day, just like any other day, in the Goblin Kingdom. The red sun shown bright in the Underground, and Jareth could already hear the noises of the goblins down in the throne room. He snapped his fingers, soundproofing the room to quiet the racket. Time to go back to sleep.

Sarah stepped back into the room, tip-toeing so as to not wake up the already sleeping goblin king. "Lazy bones," she thought to herself, suppressing a giggle. Well, off to find her friends.

The rest of her trip was relatively easy. She'd remembered to pack a small notepad and a pencil, so she quickly sketched a rough map of the castle, for later use. not that there was any assurance that the castle's walls wouldn't just move.

Dodging the goblins was an easy task. Even if they saw her, one bang on the head and their memories were erased. The castle was full of various odds and ends. One hall lead to a dead end in the form of a sock filled room. Another room held piles of organized instruction manuals on a still assembly line. They were cut and pasted together, some still wet. Sarah could only imagine what it was for.

Finally, she reached a doorway that was sealed on the top and bottom with gum. She turned the knob. The smell of frankincense and car exhaust filled Sarah's nose, making her reluctant to go through. Stepping outside, she faced a chain link fence in the background of what looked like a Frankencar. Upon closer observation, she realized it was a garbage bin made out of used car parts. Who knew goblins recycled.

Anyway, heading right, around the side of the gold plated castle, was a steep slope. Sarah went onwards, descending down the slope, dirty sand crunching under her trainers.

***

Jareth jumped up with a start, magicking his clothes on. He was late for his appointment with the Queen of Carn. No time for anything, he teleported to the throne room.

* * *

  
Author's Note: Well, this one was short and uneventful, but I have something planned that is somewhat more serious, which I'm not sure I'm gonna be able to pull off. Next chapter up tomorrow.


	4. Thank you, Sarah

Chapter 4

Sarah finally found her friends, but not before befriending an opera singing bird, a special Olympic snail, and an accordion playing alligator. Fortunately for the readers, the bird ate the snail, the alligator ate the bird, and Sarah, well, she didn't eat the alligator, but she didn't speak to it either. Moving on, when he saw Sarah, Ludo shouted, "Sarah!", because really, he needed to get rid of his lisp eventually. "Hoggle work," he said, and Sarah visibly relaxed. If Hoggle was just at work, that meant there was no trouble.

"Duty calls," thought Jareth, as he trudged on to his throne. He prepared himself to receive the new Queen of Carn, a small country northeast of the Labyrinth. Since the last queen had disappeared, relations have been rocky between the two kingdoms. But Jareth planned on maintaining the same good spirits between them as he had with the former monarch. A mutt entered the room. Jareth thought his name was Didley Mouse.

"His Royal Highness the King of Goblins!" The mutt shouted, and the goblins echoed.

Jareth rolled his eyes. "I know who I am. There is no need to announce me to myself, thank you very much."

"You are welcome, your Highness!" Cried the brown droopy thing. Jareth sighed.

"Out! Out! The lot of you! And it's Majesty to you." He punctuated his command with a a few fierce kicks. Several goblins scattered.

He appraised the throne room. There were feathers strewn all over the pure stone floor. Darn it! Carn was famous for it's chickens. That was the only reason such a small kingdom survived so long in the Underground. The whole country was an eighth the size of his, and yet their profits were nearly equivalent. It was full of chickens, supplying them to every kingdom on this side of the world. Chickens were the main food of the goblins. If they ran out of them, Jareth would have an eternal headache trying to figure out what to do.

A stray goblin informed him that the Queen of Carn had been sitting outside for nearly half an hour. Jareth rubbed his eyes. He took out a crystal, and focused on her face. Disapproval shown clearly through the stone. He turned back time.

Judy stepped out of her carriage, observing the gold castle walls rising tall above her head. The red sun reflected mutely in the yellow metal, and she could swear the bricks were gold plated. But the Castle Beyond Goblin City was majestic, she had to give it that. Far more so than her own little mansion in Soul City. She felt a headache coming on. Judy's rule on Carn was tentative at best, conjectural at worst.

She had no time to deal with all the souls that were coming in, and the elves that turned them into chickens were about to have a strike. Something about food safety. The Queen of Carn needed someone to advise her on how to run her own country. Asking for help was all well and fine now, but if she waited any longer, it would be a major faux pas. Four months into her rule was bad enough. Since Jareth ran a similar business to her's, perhaps he could offer some advice.

Judy was led through golden gates by a little goblin, and then through a mixed metal door, which was held open by two giants. 'Where did Jareth get giants?' She wondered.

"Her Royal Majesty the Queen of Soul City of Carn!" Echoed the squeaky voice of a well fed goblin.

Judy nodded her head to the fellow royal, hiding her wince. It was only too true that Soul was the only city of Carn. Her small kingdom held the weight of the entire country.

"Rise," said the king, nodding himself.

"His Royal Majesty The King of Goblin City of the Labyrinth!" Cried the dutiful voice.

"Thank you, Mouse. That will be all." Jareth responded. There was no reason to be rude in front of his guests. Especially when his guest was of such high importance.

Judy took in the scene. the throne room was just as it was the last, and first, time she was here. The arched ceiling, the torches lining the heavy stone walls. Ha! She knew it was only gold plated. Finally her eyes settled on Jareth, and she suppressed a gasp. Then she suppressed a laugh. What was the meaning of this? There he was, sitting in all his splendor, back straight and knees at a right angle. Her eyes were drawn to his forehead, where, clear as that blasted red sun, was the word "LOSER" imprinted in peach pink.

Jareth smirked.

The queen didn't know what to do. Was this some sort of test? She knew that the Goblin King liked games. To mention the marking would be impolite, but to seem oblivious might be perceived as cheap. Even if it was there without his knowledge now, the king would discover the word eventually, and then she would be perceived as a monarch who ignored what was staring her in the face. Her face gave a little twist, breath catching. But Judy was queen, and she was here on business. Loser or not, it was of no consequence as long as he would help her with her elves. She mastered herself.

Jareth watched the young queen assess him, noticing with delight her gaze lingering on his face. Her breath caught, and he grinned, envisioning the thoughts that must be racing through her mind. Granted, women usually focused on his pants, but choice is a queen's prerogative. He decided to break the silence.

"Hello."

Simple, Judy thought. "Hello," she answered concisely, and the proceedings began.

CUT to Sarah

Sarah was now well on her way into the woods surrounding the Labyrinth. With Ludo, of course. The fairies were thicker here, and they tended to bite. Sarah wished Hoggle was here, with his canned fairy repellent. She had some hanging around her neck, but she had a sharp feeling it was past it's expiration date.

"What shall we do next?" She asked Ludo. "Dance? Pick flowers?"

"Back," said Ludo, shuffling his feet. "Sarah dark."

Sarah smiled at him. "I know it's getting dark, but we still have some time to explore." So they did.

For hours and hours Sarah and Ludo frolicked in the wood, finding all sorts of creatures. There was a whole team of Special Olympic snails who let them watch a match with the Special Olympic turtles. The turtles won, and the snails invited them over for some post race ail over at a nearby bush. There they met their children, who worked as messengers for the Labyrinth's fairies. "But how are you messengers if you're so slow?" Sarah asked at one point. "Who you calling slow!" Yelled one of the athletes. But a red postal snail interrupted. "Not everyone wants their message to be delivered quickly."

They met a bunch of wild fairies, even more feral than the Labyrinth's. A worm warned them off a path that led west, into the mountains. Sarah definitely didn't want to meet any trolls.

"Mountains home," Ludo interrupted Sarah's strain of thought. She looked at him.

"Ludo lost. Mountains home. Rock." A stone rolled towards him, as though to prove his point. Ludo grew agitated.

"You were lost in the Labyrinth? Oh, how terrible! Alright. The first thing we'll do is get you home. Well, the second. Let's just get Hoggle first. These fairies are killing me. And we might need Sir Didymus, that little knight, to protect us if we get into any trouble."

Ludo and Sarah started back on the path they first came on.


	5. Gathering Hoggle

Chapter 5

They hiked back through the forest, racing the impending night. The woods were dangerous at night, housing all kinds of beings. The trees themselves seemed to be alive, leaves bristling on their branches, the wind flowing through them, making them move. It was almost as if the branches themselves were moving, creating the wind. The very evening chill seemed magical to Sarah, who wrapped her shirt around her as they hurried for the safety of the Labyrinth. Suddenly Sarah heard a strange hollow howl, and her and Ludo started running, full speed.

"We're here," she panted, out of breath. "Stop, stop." They were inside the main wall of the Labyrinth. No wolves here, only... other things. Ludo had been learning the pathways from Hoggle, and led them to Goblin City, where Hoggle was getting ready to go to bed. Hoggle's house was like all the other houses around there, low and mushroomlike. In fact, it was so low that Sarah or Ludo would never be able fit inside. Sarah knocked on the door. If she couldn't come in, maybe Hoggle could come out.

"Eh, what are you doing?" A sleepy voice yelled from inside. "Can't get a moment's peace around here," it grumbled. "Who are you? Goblins don't knock."

"It's me, Hoggle, open the door," she called.

There was a pause. "Sarah? What are you doing here? Jareth will be furious!" Hoggle opened the door.

"It's fine, he's completely oblivious." She didn't know how true that statement was.

"How did you get here?" Hoggle asked.

"I came through the mirror, of course. Where were you? I waited all night for you, and you never came." Her voice sounded disappointed, accusatory. Sarah put her hand on her hip.

Hoggle looked at her in disapproval.

"The King moved the mirror into the castle. We couldn't come to you because he forbid it. Something about forbidden migration or whatnot." He turned his head, looking at Sarah out of the corner of his eye.

"How did _you_ get here? If you used the mirror, then you came from the castle. You're him!" He jumped back from her, and gave a startled gasp, bringing his hand to his heart. The door slammed shut, making Sarah sigh in exasperation.

"Ludo, wait here a moment. Hoggle," she called again.

"On the first day we saw each other, the first present I gave you was a plastic bracelet."

"Jareth knows that," he was skeptical. Sarah could hear him breathing behind the door.

"He does? Well, how about this. The first time I saw you, you were peeing in the bushes." Hoggle stiffened, embarrassed.

"Jareth knows that too." Whoa, he was really in for it, Sarah thought. She tried to think of something, anything, that would make Hoggle trust her. Jareth wasn't there when both of the aforementioned events happened, so how did he know about them? She wondered...

"Hoggle, would you believe me if I told you about something we did in the Aboveground?"

"Maybe." Noncommittal. Jareth used his crystals to view people. Maybe that only worked in the Underground, Sarah didn't know. But it was worth a try.

"The first time you saw a microwave, you thought it would make a nice cage for a fairy." Hoggle creaked open the door.

"I told you that the fairy would explode, and then Irene would never forgive me for messing up her microwave." Sarah continued to persuade Hoggle. "Now, please, can you come out?" Hoggle reluctantly acquiesced.

"Now Ludo here," Sarah motioned to Ludo, "Says that he lived in the mountains. But then, he got lost, and ended up in the Labyrinth, where those helmet headed brutes hung him up and tortured him. That's why we have to bring Ludo home." She finished, and Hoggle looked thoughtful.

"And you want me to come with you?"

"Yes." And Sarah went on convincing Hoggle till dark. It was taking so long, that she even sent Ludo by himself to find Sir Didymus. By dawn Hoggle agreed to join them on their quest, and Ludo returned, bringing with him news of Sir Didymus. Even though Sir Didymus was delighted that Sarah was back, Ludo even included details of Ambrosius wagging his tail, he was bid by the King to stay at the castle for an indefinite amount of time.

To make up for their long day, Ludo and Sarah curled up in front of Hoggle's front door, blocking the way. After all, they had to make sure that Hoggle didn't chicken out.


	6. Cattails

Author's Note: Yes, there's an allusion to True Blood. The rating's going up, and I hope this story is gonna get a _lot_ darker by the time it's finished. It's still fun and games for now, children.

Chapter 6

Now, Sarah was apprehensive about returning to Jareth's castle. She got away with trespassing once, twice would really be pushing her luck. Jareth probably knew all about her prank by now, and if he did, then he definitely knew who did it. The word "LOSER" in peach pink, honestly. Who wouldn't guess it was her. To Sarah's knowledge, she was the only one who ever beat the Goblin King. But the trio of friends needed to retrieve their fourth member in order to start on their quest. "Like the four musketeers," Sarah smiled. Off to the castle they went.

***

Meanwhile, at the castle, the King of Goblins had woken up excruciatingly early in order to greet his royal house guest. He was grumpy, tired, and bored. _This is getting old,_ he thought to himself with a groan. _I am king, I should be able to sleep when I want. It isn't fair._ But he was king, and he had his duties. It was not his place to fret about fairness, or morality. He was not some peasant, to have that luxury. So Jareth the Goblin King forced himself to take graceful, regal steps out the door. Something on the right caught his eye, and he turned his head.

It was the mirror. He gasped in shock at what he saw. There was an abominable order of letters on his own forehead, in the queen's own lipstick, no less. This was the last time he ever played Yahtzee with anyone. He fumed.

The queen, on the other hand, was still sleeping when her rooster crowed. She jumped up, thanking the bird, and got dressed. Waking up was so much easier in a foreign land. There was so much to explore, and so many new dangers to avoid. The queen went to the throne room, in anticipation of the usual pleasantries and veiled jabs of court. Hopefully, the silly Jareth had wiped off that paint by now. If it was a test, she had no idea how to deal with it. After all, Judy had only been queen for four months. Plus, she doubted that any older monarch had to deal with these sorts of mind games.

On the way to the throne room, she met the little attendant. Mouse, was it?

"Your Majesty, His Majesty the King is expecting you in the throne room immediately," he announced, and she felt his eyes following her as she thanked him and walked off.

_Oh no,_ Judy thought. _Have I done something to offend him? Is he still sore about that game of Yahtzee? This is the last time I play with royalty._

***

Sarah was coming up to the castle, Ludo and Hoggle in tow, wondering what she should do. Should they sneak in and quietly drag Sir Didymus out? There was no way that the giant beast could be stealthy in any way. Should they lay siege to the castle, leaving ruins in their wake? No, that was more Sir Didymus's forte, and as of now, he was trapped in the Castle Beyond Goblin City, by the Goblin King himself. Oh, this was so much easier with Toby! Beat the Labyrinth, go into the castle, and get Toby out. But Sarah couldn't do that, could she? Maybe there was a way to run the Labyrinth agai-

Suddenly the gates in front of the castle opened, and they all had to hide. Sarah, Hoggle, and Ludo all scattered behind the various houses and bushes, as feathers flew from the rusty golden gates.

***

Jareth was standing outside the doorway, looking down at Judy as she was escorted by goblins out of his home.

"I woke up this morning, and what do I find? Lies, written all over my face. In your makeup, by your hand." The Goblin King was stating this in a loud, high authoritative voice. "Don't tell me that my goblins did this, they would not dare. You, you were the only one with the power to do this. When I was asleep, no less." Jareth thought about the magical feathers all over the floor of his throne room, how he wasn't able to manipulate them with his crystals, like he could everything else.

"But Jareth-" Judy was cut off.

"But nothing. You pollute my castle with your foul fowl, you defile my face with your cruel words. Out, out! Out of my castle immediately!" He kept on shouting as she ran for cover from the chickens being flung at her. "And if you ever come back here again, feathers will fly!"

_Feathers are already flying,_ she thought. _Those poor chickens must be frightened out of their souls. If that man wasn't so irrational, he might see my point of view._ But should Judy really break her alliance with the Goblin Kingdom over such a trifling matter? She knew that the Fae often acquired traits from their surroundings. Jareth, the poor man, lived among goblins, creatures that were as impulsive as they were rash.

The decision was made for her, as a random goblin kicked her in the behind. This was going too far. Physical violence on allied ground violated the terms of their agreement. She would not bow to the Goblin King's childishness. But Judy, sensible as she was, knew that the Goblin Kingdom had been allied to Carn for two hundred years. She had heard stories of the former, more peaceful King of Goblins, who had saved Soul City from being overrun by rogues. She had to honor the memory of that king, and reason things out with Jareth.

"Do you really want to break our two centuries old alliance over a minor disagreement?" Judy called out of the open window of her carriage. But Jareth was full of hot steam.

"Take her away!" He ordered. Minor, indeed.

***

Sarah heard all of that commotion while she was hiding behind a bush. She kept on laughing to herself, trying to quiet down. This wasn't the signed piece of revenge she had hoped for, but this was even better. Who'd known what her little prank would do. Well, she couldn't ruin it now. Not by banging on the Goblin King's door and practically giving herself away. No, they would wait for Sir Didymus. He was a knight, working in a castle while a foreign queen was visiting. It was obvious that he wasn't in any trouble. Unlike Toby, who was helplessly kidnapped by that butterfly.

In a while, they would go to the northeast wall of the Labyrinth, and then they would go north to the mountains.

***

Jareth paced across the feather strewn floor. The audacity! This just proved that someone so young could not rule a kingdom. (Even though he himself became king at seventeen.) The girl knew nothing of of protocol, if this was anything to go by. He stopped. Surely he'd been rash before. Why, when he was six he threw a crystal at Prince Leon's head. But to write the word "loser" on a king's forehead, all over a silly game of Yahtzee, that was ridiculous. He'd never lost anything truly important to anyone in his life. Well, _maybe_ there was a certain human girl a couple of years back. But really, where was the fun of winning if he never lost? Jareth stretched out on his throne, twisting a crystal and turning on HBO. Watching people pretend to have sex was always so much more fun than actually watching it for real.

***

Sir Didymus finally got released from his duties at the castle. Her Royal Highness the Queen of Carn was such a sweet lady. She didn't threaten or kick him the entire time of her stay at the castle, and she even fed Ambrosius beneath the dinner table. It was going to be hard getting the overgrown steed to follow him now. He seemed to prefer to obey the commands of the fairer sex. Sir Didymus was going to the lake now to water the plants, under the king's express orders.

As Didymus was walking down the path to the lake, he heard a noise on his left.

"Who dares intrude on the peace of the kingdom! Show yourself!" He spun around, sword in hand.

"Calm down, Sir Didymus, it's only me." Didymus relaxed as Sarah placated him.

"Didn't see you there, my fair lady. Please accept my apologies for my rude and uncomely behavior." He bowed low, whiskers touching the ground.

"That's quite alright," she said. "Ludo and Hoggle and me were just about to go on an adventure. Want to come along?"

"Of course, milady. A knight would never let a lady travel alone." This earned him some sharp looks from Hoggle and Ludo, and an indulgent smile from Sarah.

"Come along now," said Hoggle. "We have to get out of the Labyrinth by midday, if we're gonna make it to our resting place on time."

"I didn't know we had a resting place," Sarah remarked.

"There's a lot of things you don't know." Hoggle looked at her sharply.

"Onwards to our knightly quest!"

They started hiking out of the Labyrinth, Sir Didymus forgetting all about his plants.

***

Jareth went to his room, to escape the predictable racket that was going on in his throne room. Maybe he could build himself a dream, he thought as he lay down, twirling a crystal between his eyes. Yes, a dream, to take his mind off of... He drifted off.


	7. An attempt at a chapter, sorry kids

"And _I_ am telling you that you're going the wrong way, east is that way." Sarah pointed, annoyed. They weren't even out of the Labyrinth yet and already, Hoggle was messing them up.

"I think I've been here a bit longer than you," said Hoggle was firmly standing his ground.

"Look, Hoggle, I know we're friends, but if that is north," She pointed forward, "Then that is east." She continued, turning to the right.

"Sarah, I'm a dwarf. I know my way around the Labyrinth. Have I ever steered you wrong?" He looked ashamed for a moment. "What did I tell you about assumptions?"

Sarah put her hands on her hips and stood her ground. "We're going right Hoggle, and that's final." She fumed and marched off, Sir Didymus in tow. Ludo looked back and forth between Sarah and Hoggle, but followed the girl. He wanted to get home very much, but Sarah was his friend.

"Alright," called Hoggle. "But from this moment on, don't come crying to me for getting lost. Stupid human girls," he mumbled under his breath.

"What did you say?" Sarah asked, incensed, but they went right, going farther and farther northwest.

***

The Queen of Carn was sitting in front of her desk, writing a letter to Avery, the King of Triswald. Now that her agreement with the King of Goblins was broken, she could form other alliances. She knew that Triswald was long antagonistic to the Labyrinth, on account of its unfortunate location. The medium sized kingdom was situated directly north of the Bog of Eternal Stench, and everybody knew that smells traveled up. There have already been several reported deaths from arsenic poisoning. Carn would continue to supply chickens to Goblin City, for now. But Judy knew that Avery would still be glad to be allied with her.

***

Sarah pinched her nose as they approached the Bog of Eternal Stench. Ugh. Her memory didn't do the stench justice. "Can't we go around it?" She asked petulantly, with a nasal voice.

"You picked this path, you choose where to go." Hoggle.

"Remember, our adventure doesn't start until we exit the Labyrinth," Sarah reminded the group. She looked around for a shortcut through the Bog, and pulled her shirt over her nose. "There," She said, her voice muffled, "There's a trail of stones, over by that tree. She pushed a bunch of cattails out of the way as she stepped onto the short stone, hands holding on to a branch. Hoggle and company did the same, and on they went.

Only Sir Didymus was content, although there was something in the back of his mind... And Ambrosius was more skittish as usual. He was running back and forth along the edge of the bog, reluctant to go across.

***

Finally, the group approached the forest. It was afternoon by then. They kept on walking, and Hoggle was refusing to help them out, much to Sarah's chagrin. By early evening, Ludo was looking around anxiously. They picked berries to eat, and made fast conversation in order to fend of the boredom. Sarah even suggested singing songs, but _somebody's_ voice was a little too high. Suddenly, Sarah heard a noise.


End file.
